from Hacker News

How come Blue Origin with earlier start with richer founder is so behind?

by anon1199022 on 10/16/23, 2:59 PM with 14 comments

vs SpaceX ? Bezos became richer earlier and Blue Ocean founded 2 years earlier. We don't even know what they're doing at this point. How is the gap so big?

by brudgers on 10/16/23, 3:37 PM
The founder found a more lucrative route to defense contracts.
by PaulHoule on 10/16/23, 3:12 PM
SpaceX followed the path of least resistance. First they developed launch systems that targeted the middle of the space launch system that weren't terribly "high tech" but were designed with cost optimization in mind. Then they developed a real business, and they pursued re-usability in a conservative way as a further cost optimization.
After all of that (and capturing a huge amount of the market) SpaceX began development of a truly radical system that promises much better capabilities and lower cost.
Blue Ocean has made the mistake that many entrants in this market have made by developing a super high tech system (reusable from the start) rather than taking minimal steps.
The market for orbital flights is real, the market for sub-orbital flights is not. Really some university team should try making a reusable sounding rocket because people launch a bunch of those, but rocket companies promising suborbital flight, like Virgin, chronically disappoint because it is a ride to nowhere. There's more of a market for a theme park ride like Disney's "Rocket to the Moon" than there is for a $100,000+ suborbital flight that might just blow you up.